28 Facts About Studs Terkel

Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster.

Studs Terkel received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1985 for The Good War and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.

Studs Terkel credited his understanding of humanity and social interaction to the tenants and visitors who gathered in the lobby there and the people who congregated in nearby Bughouse Square.

Studs Terkel published his first book, Giants of Jazz, in 1956.

Studs Terkel served as a distinguished scholar-in-residence at the Chicago History Museum.

Studs Terkel appeared in the film Eight Men Out, based on the Black Sox Scandal, in which he played newspaper reporter Hugh Fullerton, who tries to uncover the White Sox players' plans to throw the 1919 World Series.

Studs Terkel found it particularly amusing to play this role, as he was a big fan of the Chicago White Sox, and gave a moving congratulatory speech to the White Sox organization after their 2005 World Series championship during a television interview.

Studs Terkel received his nickname while he was acting in a play with another person named Louis.

Studs Terkel was acclaimed for his efforts to preserve American oral history.

For Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression, Studs Terkel assembled recollections of the Great Depression that spanned the socioeconomic spectrum, from Okies, through prison inmates, to the wealthy.

In 1997, Studs Terkel was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In 2004, Studs Terkel received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College.

Studs Terkel published a new personal memoir entitled Touch and Go in fall 2007.

Studs Terkel was a self-described agnostic, which he jokingly defined as "a cowardly atheist" during a 2004 interview with Krista Tippett on American Public Media's Speaking of Faith.

Studs Terkel spoke about his participation in the Works Progress Administration.

Studs Terkel gave one of his last interviews on the BBC HARDtalk program on February 4,2008.

Studs Terkel spoke of the imminent election of Barack Obama as President of the United States, and offered him some advice, in October 2008.

Studs Terkel died in his Chicago home on Friday, October 31,2008, at the age of 96.

Studs Terkel had been suffering since a fall in his home earlier that month.

Studs Terkel was there to listen, to chronicle, and to make sure their stories are remembered.

In 1982, Studs Terkel was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

In 1985, Studs Terkel received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for his book The Good War.

In 2001, Studs Terkel was made an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Northwestern University.

In 2001, Studs Terkel was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame as a Friend of the Community.

In 2004, Studs Terkel was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln by the Governor of Illinois in the area of Communications.

In 2006, Studs Terkel received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the first and only annual US literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace.

In 2010, Studs Terkel was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

Studs Terkel was a recipient of the 1999 George Polk Career Award and the National Book Critics Circle 2003 Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award.